


Okay, But, Like, It Isn't Canon Soooooo

by Anonymous



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Implied Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Keith is Zuko, Lance is Sokka, M/M, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 17:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11994516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The fact of the matter is Sokka/Zuko isn't canon and apparently Keith is out of a date because of that.





	Okay, But, Like, It Isn't Canon Soooooo

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno, guys. This just kind of happened. Don't look at me.  
> Also if you want to know what the spanish says, learn Spanish. That's what I did. Or you could use google translate and it'll get you close enough.

Keith wasn’t entirely sure how he’d been convinced by his brother to go on a blind date- as in he genuinely did not remember how it happened. He must’ve been in a fugue state from when Shiro first suggested it up until when Keith sat down at the table in the cafe. Every particle of his being was screaming that this was a horrible idea Keith didn’t _date_. Dating requires intimacy and openness and trust- and all of that was extremely difficult for Keith. He just wasn’t built for relationships. So the young man was perfectly content to be forever alone. He’d get some cats from a shelter, call them his children, and forever bask in the dual freedom and loneliness of bachelorhood.

But then Shiro happened.

And now the younger brother was here- in some hipster cafe with chillstep leaking from the speakers while waiting for one of Shiro’s underclassmen friends whom Keith had never met. This was fine. Keith wasn’t angry and terrified and confused and about to hide out in the bathroom wishing the laws on destroying private property were more lax so he could take out his anxiety and aggression on the bathroom stall door or, maybe, the whole bathroom and maybe some of the really fragile looking porcelain plates being used as decoration on the walls. Keith didn’t have any of those feelings at all. Before he could “not” act on these feelings, someone sat down across from him.

He was young, had a deep healthy tan that wasn’t orange- so probably not sprayed on. Fluffy brunette hair was styled short and looked well taken care of. He was very angular and lanky, sharp lines and tight angles all coming together to create a lean body of long limbs that looked a bit taller than Keith. A surprising pair of bright, ocean blue eyes were maybe Keith’s favorite part. So maybe this wouldn’t go terribly and Keith wouldn't somehow screw this us. Maybe he was actually sort of looking forward to this.

And then a phone was slid directly in front of him by a hand the same soft color as brown sugar. It was a Samsung and there was a part of Keith that was delighted at the sight- he kind of really hated Apple. After a beat, he finally recognized what was on the bright screen. A colorful graphic of poorly photoshopped stills of Avatar characters laid over a rainbow gradient with while comic sans letters spelling out

_Which Avatar the Last Airbender Character Are You?_

Frowning deeply, Keith glanced back up to look at his date. “What?” He asked, ever so eloquently.

With a sigh and an exaggerated hand gesture, the tan man opened his mouth to speak. “If this date is going to go anywhere, you need to take the quiz. It was made by my friend, Pidge, who is a genius so it works.”

Keith had heard of Pidge from Shiro: a technological genius who could very well be the next Steve Jobs, a kingpin of the silicon valley. He just wasn’t entirely sure how that applied to making an online quiz. Shrugging to himself, the young man accepted the phone and slowly began answering seemingly nonsensical questions.

“Pidge took a psychology of personality class last semester and decided the best way to apply the knowledge was to make what looks like a super shitty buzzfeed quiz ripoff- except that it’s always right,” Lance rambled. Having opened his mouth once, it didn’t seem like he’d close it again. “Seriously, it’s programmed to be able to tell when you’re lying so it always gives you the right result. I took it, like, twenty times and I always got the same result no matter how I answered. It’s unreal and probably magic. Pidge has all this power and they choose to use it on buzzfeed quizzes. If I was that smart- hombre, I’d be running a secret country of people living underground in the sewer systems and be plotting to take over the world.” He paused. “Actually, Pidge probably is doing that. I should ask.”

Keith glanced up, raising an eyebrow while waiting for the test to calculate his results. His date’s scrunched up face staring into the distance was kind of cute. A soft tinging noise caught both their attention. A gif of Zuko flipping a table greeted Keith and, _yeah_ , that’s probably right. Handling the phone back to his date, Keith watched the expressions flit across the man’s face before finally settling on something akin to disappointment.

He sighed and those bright blue eyes made eye contact with Keith. “Mierda,” he muttered, “pero eres tan lindo!” Running a hand through his fluffy locks, the man slipped his phone back in his pocket and adopted a defeated posture. “Sorry, but I’m Sokka. It’s not canon so it’s just not going to work out.”

What. the. _Fuck_. Keith stared at the man incredulously. He wanted to believe this was just his date’s plan to escape after showing up and seeing _Keith_ , so that he could hate the guy but it looked like the tan man genuinely believed what he was saying-- which was worse because it was weirdly adorable. Keith wanted to be rejected by a jerk, not an adorable man-child who was apparently Sokka and, honestly, this felt like something Sokka might do.

Keith had had a crush on Sokka as a child (read: Keith still had a crush on Sokka).

Keith was being rejected by Sokka. He did not have the emotional maturity for this. By the time he finished processing everything, the young man was already gone and he was alone. What. the. _actual_. Fuck. Resolving to not dwell on whatever it was that just happened, Keith pulled out his phone and pulled up his internet browser to bum around on the web. The fact that he ever so casually typed ZukoxSokka into the search bar didn’t mean anything. He’d just pulled up a fanfiction set in a coffee shop (while weighing the pros and cons of a cathartic release of anger spent destroying a public bathroom in the back of his mind) when he heard the loud slam of a body hastily joining him at his table. A quick glance up proved the disturbance to be the return of his date, looking quite panicked. He might’ve still been somewhat pissed about being immediately blown off, even if he’d been ready to do the same before he saw the man, so he didn’t offer much of a greeting.

“Okay so my ex totally just walked in and I made the dumbass mistake of telling her I was here for a date and she’s kind of the worst so I need to look like I haven’t totally fucked everything up because the moment she sees a point of weakness, she’ll pull my heart out Mortal Combat style and then probably rip my spine out and beat me with it for good measure.”

Keith merely raised an eyebrow, his message clear: _why should I help you?_

“I’ll buy you food,” his ex-date offered.

Immediately shoving his phone in his pocket, Keith held out his hand. “Deal.” He never said no to free food.

This time when his date stood, he waited for the quiet man, gesturing towards the counter to buy their meal. “Please don’t order too much. I’m a college student, not a billionaire. I can afford to get you a pretty solid meal, but I can’t do the grand gesture of _I’ll have every pastry in the whole store_ ,” he warped his voice waved his arms about, pausing only once to twirl an invisible mustache. Keith tilted his head curiously, raising his eyebrows in amusement. “Been watching too many K-dramas and Ouran High School Host Club,” his date answered the unasked question. “Plus Allura pulled that shit three days ago on Shiro when he looked a little too long at some hand-made scarves being sold at this little stall at a street faire near campus. She bought all of the scarves, there were like fifty, and just sauntered off to her next class leaving Shiro with his arms full of scarves. I swear I saw her wink at him while she walked away. He spent the rest of the day giving away scarves. He gave me one too-- actually more like five. If anyone tells you I took twelve, don’t believe them because they’re filthy liars.”

“So that’s why Shiro came home with all those scarves the other day,” Keith noted aloud, thinking to the bright red scarf that’d been shoved into his hands.

“Ah! That’s right! I totally forgot you’re Shiro’s little brother! Has he always been such a dad? This is important-- people have made bets over this.” The man blinked in surprise for a moment as another epiphany hit him. “I never told you my name! Hi, I’m Lance.”

“Keith,” the Asian man responded in kind, noticing it was almost their turn to order. “So no ordering every pastry in the shop. Anything else I should know?”

“Their lava cake is to die for,” Lance said in a gravely serious tone.

And, yeah, somehow Keith had gone from dreading a blind date to looking forward to said date to getting dumped before the date started to going on a fake date with said dumper in exchange for free food, but he was kind of enjoying this date-- or fake date, whatever this was. They ordered and stepped to the side to wait on food while chatting amicably.

“You go to school with Shiro, right? What do you study?”

“I’m a double major in astrophysics and music theory. My dissertation is going to be an interpretive dance on the qualities of black holes.” Keith couldn’t tell whether or not Lance was joking. “What about you?”

“I’m studying at West Point to be a pilot in the Air Force,” he answered, watching excitement spark in the tan man’s eyes.

“How high have you flown in the sky? What’s your favorite level of the atmosphere to fly in? What’s the view like? Do you ever want to go into space?” The questions were overwhelming yet oddly flattering as most people didn’t have much interest in Keith’s love of flying. Just as he was about to respond, a voice cut in.

“ _Lance_ ,” the tone was sweet but laced with something sinister. It was hard to miss the man’s very visible flinch at the voice.

“Nyma,” he spun around to face the newcomer with an easy smile. That flinch would be the only time he let his control slip. “Hi, again.”

Nyma smiled tightly, sliding her eyes from Lance to Keith and back again. Whatever she’d been looking for, she didn’t see it and her cruelly curled lips twitched in disappointment. Both of the men caught it and before Keith could begin to ponder what it meant, Lance leaned over next to his ear and stage whispered.

“She’s disappointed that you’re cute.” It’d been said loud and without a hint of shame or teasing. Apparently Lance’s words and Keith’s resulting all-consuming blush were even more disappointing as her plastic smile fell into an outright frown. “Ah,” Lance noted aloud, “you made it worse. If you don’t stop being attractive right now, she’s going to get really upset.” And maybe Keith was dying on the inside. He wasn’t used to compliments, especially not ones given unabashedly. This very attractive person was calling him attractive and, now, this’d probably be really great if this exact person hadn’t already rejected him.

“Ese chico es tan lindo, Lance?” The girl spoke fluent Spanish, her eyes staring into Lance’s own. “Cómo lo engañan a ir en una cita contigo?”

Lance scoffed loudly at whatever was being said to him and wrapped a lean arm around Keith’s shoulders. “Grosero. Debes saber que esta cita no es un truco. No me culpe si él tiene buen gusto.” Whatever he’d said had caused the woman’s frown to deepen. Before the confusing conversation could continue, the two men’s names were called and they went to get their food. While Lance had been in the midst of that _lovely_ conversation, Keith had been dissecting the compliment. He’d been called cute _and_ attractive, which did not happen frequently. Usually, his tendency to glare at, well, _everything_ did a good job of chasing away any potential conversation partners. So it was novel and kind of pleasant but there was a nagging feeling Lance was only saying that.

As they picked up their food, Lance nudged Keith with his elbow. “So, if we stay within twenty feet of her for much longer, shit is gonna get real ugly, real fast. Anywhere nearby you’d like to sit and eat?”

A place immediately came to Keith’s mind. “Yeah,” he nodded to the door, “follow me.” The pair walked quickly towards the door, giving the glaring Nyma a wide berth as they exited the establishment. From there, they walked a block and a half to a local park. It was small, with a single concrete path winding through the plot like a snake that had the occasional bench dotting its body. A barrier of trees stretched along the far edge, creating the illusion of a massive forest sprawling outwards from the tiny park.

Lance hummed in delight as he noted the shaded benches and chirping birds. “Good choice.”

Keith raised an eyebrow at the man. “Hm? No. We’re not there yet.” He continued into the park, making a beeline straight for the wall of trees with his fake(?) date trailing behind him. Keith weaved around tree trunks casually, knowing the area as intimately as his bedroom. If he heard Lance stumble over some roots, he didn’t call attention to it. Something told him it wouldn’t go over too well. Eventually, the two entered a clearing, just enough space cleared out between the trees for a small pond with what looked like an incredibly old fountain teetering on the edge, half in and out of the pond. 

“This part of the park used to be more cleared out and maintained a long time ago. Then a sinkhole formed and started to pull the fountain down in it,” Keith said aloud. “They just kind of blocked the area off with trees so people wouldn’t get too close, but it’s been decades since this sinkhole was dangerous. All the new plant life in the area stabilized the ground so now it's safe, but almost everyone's forgotten about it. The sinkhole got filled with water and became a pond while the fountain just kind of sits in its shallows. I like coming here since it’s quiet.”

Lance whistled lowly. “It’s beautiful.” His ocean blue gaze flickered away from the scene to observe Keith. “Also, you really are _such_ a Zuko.” Keith bristled at the comment; his _being Zuko_ was kind of what ended the date before it even started. Lance apparently noticed Keith’s discomfort. “Hey, that’s not a bad thing. I actually really like Zuko when I watched the show as a kid and I still do now. He’s awesome!” The two moved to sit by the edge of the pond. “He’s incredibly passionate and focussed on his goals. You can’t always see all the emotions bubbling underneath but he’s got a whole bunch and he gives everything he’s got for the people he cares about. Ambitious, motivated, passionate, and caring-- that’s a pretty great person to be.” Keith smiled softly at the praise.

“Sokka was better though,” Keith responded. “He never let anything get him down. He didn’t have bending powers, but he worked so hard for his nation, his family, and the whole world. He always kept the mood light, the spirits high, and everyone happy. He might’ve just been a kid at the start, but he grew into an incredible warrior and leader. It was through earnest effort and acknowledging his vulnerabilities rather than hiding them, that he grew up as a person. He’s so strong for that.” Lance hummed noncommittally, his eyes trained on Keith and a blush staining his cheeks. Shuffling around, the man pulled out his phone. “What are you doing?” Keith asked.

“Gonna text Pidge to make a new quiz. What ships in quality media mimic the dynamic of Zuko and Sokka but are romantic and canon?”

Keith’s breath caught awkwardly in his throat in surprise and he broke into a coughing fit. Lance delivered three hard smacks to his back while still furiously texting with his other hand. When Keith recovered, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “You could probably justify it if you found a good enough Sokka/Zuko fanfic.”

Lance froze. “Or fanart! Which would establish a basis faster!” There was a beat of silence as the two stared at each other. “Whoever finds cuter fanart doesn’t have to pay for the next date!” Lance declared as he started furiously swiping through google.

“Prepare to lose!” Keith answered back with a wide grin.


End file.
